Inhaler



Patented Oct. 18, 1938 PATENT OFFICE INHALER Jay A. Hcidbrink, Minneapolis, Minn., assignor to The Ohio Chemical and Manufacturing Company, Cleveland, Ohio Application March 1, 1937, Serial No. 128,359

5 Claims.

My invention relates to inhalers and has for its object to provide a type of inhaler which will be particularly satisfactory in use and will fit any normal and usual face, and, above all, when so employed will alternately seal from outside air the face on inhalation and exhalation. More broadly stated, my inhaler comprises a rubber body fitting within the properly-shaped inhaler cup formed by the anode process of latex rubber, which is a type of rubber having a marked degree of flexibility and resiliency, said rubber being carried in a shaped rolled rim outside of the cup which is provided with inturned free flaps extending inside of the inhaler to points adjacent to or below the outer edges of the inhaler cup. This arrangement is such that on inhalation the rolled edge is not only pressed flrmly against the face of the patient but the edges of the flaps are forced inward against the body of rubber within or at the edge of the inhaler cup, with the result that pressure of the air so trapped in the space around the rim expanding against the vacuum formed within the inhaler cup will produce a very firm binding contact between the face of the wearer and the rim. Conversely, when exhalation takes place the air under pressure within the inhaler will force under the free edges of the intumed flaps and cause them to press against the face of the wearer to make an effective seal against escape of air or gas other than through the valve mechanism associated with the inhaler.

This inhaler is of peculiar advantage for use in connection with anaesthetizing machines wherein a closed circuit is employed and inhalations are drawn from the machine and exhalations caused to move back through the machines to have the C02 removed therefrom by absorber mechanism with sufficient addition of oxygen and nitrous oxid or other anaesthetizing agent to keep the body of gas moving through the closed circuit in proper condition for the purpose.

It has been customary in former practice to make the rim of inhalers with a closed annular chamber which has been inflated, and means for inflating this chamber to bring up the rim have had to be employed including necessarily a valve construction. Frequently such a valve construction has got out of order, with leakage and deflation during the anaesthesia, and the rubber itself has developed in use weak spots which have permitted leakage, all of which has produced unsatisfactory results. Furthermore, the inflated rubber rim necessarily takes a quite fixed position so that it will'not always conform to the contouriof the face to which it is applied. It is, therefore,

an object of my invention to obviate the unsatisfactory characteristics and disadvantages of the inflated rubber rim and provide a rim which will need no inflation, and, therefore, will not be subject to the disadvantages of inflating a rim, and, furthermore, which will adapt itself with peculiar efficiency to the contour of the face.

The full objects and advantages of my invention will appear in connection with the detailed description hereinafter given, and its novel features are particularly pointed out in the claims.

In the drawing, illustrating an application of my invention in one form,

Fig. 1 is a top plan view of an inhaler member viewed from the rear thereof. Fig. 2 is an inside plan view of the inhaler viewed from the front thereof. Fig. 3 is a section through the inhaler taken on line 3- 3 of Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a transverse section of the inhaler taken on line 4-4 of Fig. 1. Fig. 5 is a fragmentary elevation view of the nose-receiving part of the inhaler.

As shown, an inhaler cup Ill of metal or other suitable rigid material is fitted to a desired shape and may be formed with curved limits I l, as clearly shown. The base of this cup I is secured to a tubular connector member l2 by means of an annular nut l3. The member I! will in practice have connection with the breathing line, including inhale and exhale valve mechanism, which are not shown, as they are of standard construction piece H preferably formed by the anode process of latex rubber, that is, formed by electrolysis directly in the shape required, from a rubber sap rather than molded from stock rubber previously reduced from said sap. The principles of my invention do not require such latex rubber, but I have found it efficient and satisfactory for the purpose. The piece It has a base l surrounding a cylindrical opening therethrough and held to the connector member l2 between flanges I6 and I1 thereon, as clearly shown in Figs. 3 and 4. The body of the piece is generally expanded as indicated at ll so as to overlie the flared edges ll of the rigid cup l0, and this expanded portion forms a bulge l8 which is caused to be interiorly shaped to generally flt the face of the wearer by an extensive flap l 9 inwardly recurved in its connection to the bulge i8. This flap I9 extends inside of the piece It to an area generally within the flared edge ll of the cup i0. At its front a cleft is formed with a nearly flat bottom wall 2| for the reception of the nose of thepatient. The free edge 22 of the flap I9 is, as clearly shown at2linl'igs.3and4,normallyspacedfromthe inner portion of the rubber face piece II.

The advantages of this construction will be apparent. The space ll within the bulge II and flap ll of the face piece does not form a closed chamber which will haveto be inflated in order to give form to the face piece, but, rather, a chamber open, as at 2!,and one whichwill never requireanyinflatiomyettheflap llwiilcontact in operation the inner wall of the rubber face piece Msossreadilytoconformtotheshape ofthefaceofthepatientinbothinhalingand exhaling operation, and to make a good seal from outside air and at the same time to adapt itself to different shapes of faces much more effectively than can an inflated inhaler rim.

I claim:

Llnhalermeehanismcompriaingarigidcup and a rubber face piece within the same formed andshapedtofltafaceand'embodylna arolled-. over rim the outside of the roll adjacent and cooperatingwiththeedgeofthecupopenon the inside to the interior of the cup.

2.Inhalermechanism comprisingarigld cup and a rubber face piece within the same formed andshapedtofitafaceandembodyingaroiledover rim 'the outside of the roll adjacent and cooperating with the edge of the cup open on the inside to the interior of the cup, said rolledover rim including a depressed portion at its front for the reception of the nose.

3. inhaler mechanism comprising a rigid cup, a rubber face piece having a portion extending within the cup and seemed to the base thereof, said rubber being carried in a shaped rolled rim outside of the cup the outside of-the shaped rolled rim adjacent and cooperating with the edge of the cup, and being provided with inturned free iiaps extending inside of the inhaler to points adjacent the outer edges of the cup.

' 4. Inhaler mechanism comprising a rigid cup,

a rubber face piece having a portion extending within the cup and seemed to the base thereof, said rubber being carried in a shaped rolled rim outside of .the cup the outside of the shaped rolled rim adjacent and cooperating with the edge of the cup, and being provided with inturned free flaps extending inside of the inhaler to points adjacent the outer edges of the cup, said flaps heldspacedfromtheinsldeofthefacepieceto form an annular chamber open to the inside of the face piece throughout its extent.

5. Inhaler mechanism comprising a rigid cup, a rubber face piece having a portion extending within the cup and secured to the base thereof, saidrubberbeingcarriedinashapedrolledrim outside of the cup, and being provided with inturned free flaps extending inside of the inhaler to points adjacent theouter edges of the cup, and a cleft portion with a relatively fiat-bot- JAY A. HEIDBRINK. 

